ML062350564

RAI, Restart of Unit 1 - U23 Affect Letter

ML062350564
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	08/25/2006
From:	Chernoff M NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLII-2
To:	Singer K Tennessee Valley Authority
Chernoff M, NRR/DORL, 415-4041
References
TAC MC4660
Download: ML062350564 (5)

Text

August 25, 2006 Mr. Karl W. Singer Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH RESTART OF UNIT 1 (TAC NO. MC4660)

Dear Mr. Singer:

The purpose of this letter is to advise you that the change in status of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) Unit 1 may result in the need to update the licensing basis for Units 2 and 3.

Based on this condition, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) should ensure that the licensing basis for Units 2 and 3 are continuing to be met and if there are any other outstanding licensing actions for BFN Units 2 and 3 needed prior to the restart of Unit 1, TVA should seek the appropriate approvals.

A proposed regulatory framework document for the restart of Unit 1 was submitted by the TVA on December 13, 2002, as supplemented in a letter dated February 28, 2003. The regulatory framework established a plan for addressing the generic communications, special programs, Technical Specification (TS) changes, and other licensing and regulatory issues needed prior to the restart of Unit 1. Included with the framework was a preliminary list of license amendments, relief requests, generic communications, and special programs that should be resolved prior to Unit 1 restart. Work is proceeding with the resolution of these items; however, the NRC staff notes that the potential effect of the Unit 1 restart on Units 2 and 3 was not explicitly discussed in previous correspondence.

Since 1985, many amendments have been approved for Units 2 and 3; these approvals may have credited available Unit 1 equipment. Prior to May of 2002, Unit 1 was in a long-term shutdown and defueled status. As a result, in some cases, licensing actions were determined to be acceptable for Units 2 and 3, based on the fact that Unit 1 was in a long-term shutdown and defueled status. As described below, the NRC staff has recently identified two such examples.

The first example is discussed in a letter dated August 17, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML062090177). This letter discusses the effect of Unit 1 restart on the approval of an extension of the emergency diesel generators allowed out of service time for Units 2 and 3 from 7 days to 14 days.

K. Singer A second example is contained in the BFN Units 1, 2, and 3 Fire Protection license conditions 2(C)13, 2(C)14, and 2(C)7. For example, the license conditions currently cite a safety evaluation dated November 2, 1995, which was approved for all three units assuming Units 2 and 3 operating with Unit 1 shut down and defueled. The license conditions also cite a safety evaluation supplement dated November 3, 1989, which assumes Units 1 and 3 are shut down.

The objectives of Section 50.59 to Title 10 to the Code of Federal Regulations are to ensure that licensees (1) evaluate proposed changes to their facilities for their effects on the licensing basis of the plant, as described in the FSAR [Final Safety Analysis Report], and (2) obtain prior NRC approval for changes that meet specified criteria as having a potential impact upon the basis for issuance of the operating license. To ensure that all required reviews have been completed, the NRC staff is requesting that TVA provide a list and a schedule for submittal for any required licensing actions for Units 2 and 3, which are necessary due to previous assumptions that are no longer valid due to the restart of Unit 1.

This request was discussed with William Crouch of your staff on August 23, 2006, and it was agreed that a response will be provided within 30 days of the issuance of this letter. If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-4041.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Margaret H. Chernoff, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 cc: See next page

ML062350564 NRR-088 OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/LA LPL2-2/BC NAME EBrown MChernoff BClayton for LRaghavan CGoldstein DATE 8/25/06 8/25/06 8/25/06 8/25/06 Mr. Karl W. Singer BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT Tennessee Valley Authority cc:

Mr. Ashok S. Bhatnagar, Senior Vice President Mr. Robert G. Jones, General Manager Nuclear Operations Browns Ferry Site Operations Tennessee Valley Authority Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant 6A Lookout Place Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street P.O. Box 2000 Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Decatur, AL 35609 Mr. Larry S. Bryant, Vice President Mr. Larry S. Mellen Nuclear Engineering & Technical Services Browns Ferry Unit 1 Project Engineer Tennessee Valley Authority Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 6 6A Lookout Place U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1101 Market Street 61 Forsyth Street, SW.

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Suite 23T85 Atlanta, GA 30303-8931 Brian OGrady, Site Vice President Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Mr. Glenn W. Morris, Manager Tennessee Valley Authority Corporate Nuclear Licensing P.O. Box 2000 and Industry Affairs Decatur, AL 35609 Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge Mr. Robert J. Beecken, Vice President 1101 Market Street Nuclear Support Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place Mr. William D. Crouch, Manager 1101 Market Street Licensing and Industry Affairs Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority General Counsel P.O. Box 2000 Tennessee Valley Authority Decatur, AL 35609 ET 11A 400 West Summit Hill Drive Senior Resident Inspector Knoxville, TN 37902 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Mr. John C. Fornicola, Manager 10833 Shaw Road Nuclear Assurance and Licensing Athens, AL 35611-6970 Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place State Health Officer 1101 Market Street Alabama Dept. of Public Health Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 RSA Tower - Administration Suite 1552 Mr. Bruce Aukland, Plant Manager P.O. Box 303017 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Montgomery, AL 36130-3017 Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Chairman Decatur, AL 35609 Limestone County Commission 310 West Washington Street Mr. Masoud Bajestani, Vice President Athens, AL 35611 Browns Ferry Unit 1 Restart Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609